Although Shaq was the leader of the franchise, Kobe was super clutch in Game 4 of the Finals. He scored 22 points in the second half and led the team to an OT victory after O'Neal had fouled out of the game. Bryant converted the final shot of the game to put the Los Angeles Lakers ahead by — With a — Game 6 victory, the Los Angeles Lakers won their first championship since The 2nd championship run was even more dominant as the Lakers went in the playoffs.
The only match they lost was in the Finals to the Philadelphia 76ers. Kobe Bryant played heavy minutes and recorded a stat line of Following the 2nd championship, the road to the Finals would prove much more difficult than the historic run of the previous year. The series would stretch to seven games, the first time this had happened to the Los Angeles Lakers since the Western Conference Finals.
However, Kobe Bryant and the crew were successful in beating their division rivals and confirming their spot in the third consecutive NBA Finals. When all was said and done, he finished with a quarter of his team's points from that post-season. At the age of 23, Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to win three championships. Kobe Bryant came back extremely motivated, leading his team to a regular-season record.
In the Finals, Dwight Howard led Orlando Magic to stand in their way, whom they eventually beat in 5 games. Kobe won his 4th ring and his first without Shaq. He also became the first since Michael Jordan to average 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists for a title-winning team in the Finals. Kobe won two back to back championships with Pau Gasol as his 2nd star on the team back in and Kobe completed a 3-peat with Shaq between He has got a total of 3 rings with him.
I then found the difference in each case and added the scores together to come up with a "Robin Factor" to give an estimate of how much help each player received from their superstar teammates.
First, here are the average "Robin Factor" scores for each player and their teammates:. It's pretty evident by looking at the year-by-year Robin Factors that Jordan isn't benefiting from a skewed season by anyone in any way, shape or form.
His six rings account for six of the highest seven scores. Furthermore, he's the only player who you can't argue was ever the "Robin" on a championship team.
Clearly, in through , Shaquille O'Neal was the driving force. For Kareem, it was because Magic Johnson was in charge. In fact, while Jordan has six finals MVPs, the other two have only two a piece. For Russell, on his first two championship teams and his last one, it is evident that he wasn't even the second best player on the team.
That's not a swipe though. He was first a very young player on a team loaded with Hall of Famers and a veteran past his prime.
There were no Finals MVPs awarded then, but it's likely he could have won six. However, there remains the earlier fact that he had by far the most Hall-of-Fame help of any of the players. In terms of help, Jordan received significantly less than any of the other three. Statistically speaking, there can be no argument.
Jordan is not only clearly ahead in terms of absolute value. He is also clearly ahead in relative value. However, there will be those who argue that numbers don't tell the whole story. Now, first, I will say that I agree with that. It has been my observation though that generally when people make that argument, they deny the part of the story that the numbers do tell.
Numbers don't tell the whole story, but they do tell a pretty good chunk of it. As to the part that the numbers don't tell, Jordan wins there as well. He's the only one of them who never lost in a finals. He is the only one who won the finals MVP every time. He's the only one who never played a game seven.
He has won two series on a game-winning assist and he's won one series with a game-winning shot. He had the flu game. He had the shrug. He had the cry. He had not one, but two point finals games. He had eight point games. His "worst" game in the finals was "only" 22 points with four boards and four assists.
When John Hollinger did his best finals performances, Jordan had four of the top 10 slots and five of the top The narrative part of the story is not lost on Michael Jordan. No, the story is not lost there. Nor is it stuck in only the finals. His game itself is what separates him from mere mortals, or even the "demigods," such as Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The most amazing thing about Jordan is that his best help was not Scottie Pippen.
It's not to take anything away from Pippen, but it's what Pippen wasn't that makes Jordan extraordinary, and that's a big man. When you look at every other great team, there's always been a ball handler and distributor on the outside, and a scorer, a big man, on the inside. Jordan was unique in that he served as both. He was the primary ball handler and passer on the team, and he was the primary scorer in the paint.
Former Pistons guard Joe Dumars once said that 95 percent of the Bulls' plays are intended for Michael Jordan, and the other five percent end up in his hands anyway. No other player in NBA history has won multiple championships the way that Jordan did. One could argue that LeBron James has been the same kind of player, but he hasn't won championships.
Kobe could score in the paint, but he never won without a great scoring big man. Kareem had Oscar Robertson, and then Magic Johnson. Michael Jordan had Horace Grant, who had one season where he scored That's the only time in his career where he had a big man score more than 15 points in the playoffs.
That's not taking anything away from Pippen. This team looked much different than their last title team, missing the big man in the middle after Shaq was traded to Miami in The first two series, against the Jazz and Rockets, went the distance, and the Denver Nuggets pushed the series to six games before falling. In a rather anti-climactic Finals, the Lakers handily defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. Kobe was stellar in the series, averaging 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists on his way to a Finals MVP nod.
Would the Lakers repeat after a taxing title? Kobe was entering his 14th season in the league, and many thought he may be past his prime. The Lakers handled their business in the regular season and entered the Playoffs as favorites to represent the West in the Finals. After a tough series with the Thunder, they swept the Jazz and squeaked by the Suns in 6.
This set them up for a rematch with the same Celtics team that bested them in The series was a classic. The Lakers went down , heading back to LA for must-win games.
Kobe scored 26 points, then grabbed 11 rebounds in a Game 6 blowout to force Game 7. He was magnificent in Game 7, too, leading the way with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and the game-deciding assist to Ron Artest for the dagger three.
In hindsight, it seems silly that Kobe Bryant was criticized for his inability to win a title without Shaq. Ultimately, Kobe won titles in every stage of his career—young role player, star, superstar, and future Hall of Fame veteran.
His winning legacy will live on in NBA history. Let us know below in the comments section!
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